On Sept. 10, 2018, Mr. Zheng Xiyuan, Consul General of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Manchester, attended the "Amazing China" Tourism Promotion Conference held at The Midland, Manchester, and delivered a speech. The conference was co-organized by the London Office of Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd (HNA).

In his speech, Mr. Zheng pointed out that the communication and exchange between Manchester and Wuhan have witnessed a significant increase ever since the two cities were twinned in 1986. After HNA launched a direct flight connecting Beijing and Manchester, there has been a noticeable increase of Chinese people who come to Manchester for academic studies, tours and business. More and more Chinese consider Manchester as their second hometown, contributing to the development of local economy, science and culture, and they play an important role in the exchange and cooperation between the two countries. He said that the UK has shown an increasing interest in cooperation with China in recent years. He revealed that a delegation headed by Mr. Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, will visit China soon. Manchester Camerata, via HNA, will launch a tour performance in Beijing, Tianjin, Changsha, Wuhan and Shanghai, conveying the hospitality and friendship of the people in Manchester to the Chinese people through music. Zheng said that the Consulate General in Manchester will work with related parties to deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and British people by promoting the China-UK tourism.

This event, the first special promotion conference held at Manchester upon celebrating the second anniversary of the launch of direct flights between Manchester and Beijing, was co-organized by the London Office of Tourism and HNA. 70 guests and representatives from tourism authorities of the two parties, local tourism industry, airlines, Manchester Airport, and media attended the event.